


Spare Hat

by Miss_TC_Nova



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:54:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27466021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_TC_Nova/pseuds/Miss_TC_Nova
Summary: Brain learns Chirithy can be friends.
Relationships: Brain & Chirithy (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Spare Hat

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I know Brain may seem a little OOC, but I'm creating a personality for the time before we meet him in KHUx.

The laughter stirs the young man from his snooze. Beneath the brim of his hat, he spies on the little group passing by his shady spot in the grass. Envy’s a cold-hearted acquaintance of his, no matter how aloof he appears on the outside.

_Must be nice to have friends._

Seeing how often the emotion visits, it’s become relatively easy for him to brush away the immediate displeasure—he’ll deal with the long-term affects later. For now, he settles in to doze a while longer.

“BRAAAAIIIIIINNNNNN!”

Stone-colored eyes snap open. Nearly losing his hat, Brain sits up to look for the source of the cry. It came from across the park, specifically from the magical cat toddling as fast as its little legs can carry it away from the pursuing wyvern.

Normally, Brain wouldn’t give two hoots about a Chirithy; everyone has one and he would’ve assumed this one belonged to someone else had it not called his name. The monster, on the other hand, is a pest that needs to be put down.

The wielder leaps to his feet, prepared to take on the enemy. Well out of Brain’s reach, the spirit topples over the book in its arms and tumbles across the grass, becoming far easier prey for the heartless. There’s no way Brain’s going to make it in time; claws inches from the poor creature, he’s pretty certain he’s about to be one spirit short.

The beast suddenly screeches, dissipating in a puff of dark smoke. Standing behind Chirithy is a young woman, keyblade drawn.

“You made it! Good job!” A second feline wearing a jacket hops out from behind the hero. It reaches out to the fallen spirit to pull it up. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

The hat-wearer nonchalantly approaches. “Sheesh, Chirithy. Instead of making trouble, couldn’t you have just ‘poofed’ away or something?” The stranger turns her gaze on Brain, brows furrowed. “What?” Her expression remains unchanged. “Oh, uh…Thanks.” He’s not getting anywhere. “Okay, what’s your problem?”

She points to the cat that was nearly eaten moments ago. “Are you not concerned that your Chirithy was almost mauled?”

The man glances down at the almost-victim who just blinks back at him. “No. If it was smart, it would’ve ‘poofed’ like I said.”

“Seriously?” Perhaps the wrong thing to say to this bearer, not that Brain typically cared what other people thought. “This is your guide. You’d probably be lost in the desert of Agrahbah without them. How do you not care about your Chirithy?”

“What are you talking about? It’s a dream eater. They barely know more about other worlds than we do.” This is actually something Brain’s wondered before: he’s seen plenty of people all buddy-buddy with their Chirithy to varying degrees but they are literally just dreams woven together in a physical form. In all honesty, he could probably get another if he asked Master Ava nicely.

Hands together, pressed against her lips, this wielder looks like she’s contemplating beating the snot out of Brain. A deep breath precedes her second rant. “It’s a living thing! They eat, drink, sleep, and think, just like you! And you’re telling me you wouldn’t bat an eye if they died?!”

“I mean, it would probably be a pain in the ass to replace, but I’m sure it’s possible.”

Oh, she really might clobber him. “You, sir, do not deserve your Chirithy.”

“Pfft.” It’s been a while since he encountered such an amusing person. “Oh yeah? And you think putting a little hoodie on yours means you do?”

“No, the fact that I treat them like a living creature does.” She reaches down, to scoop up the dream eater. “The hoodie means they asked and I was nice enough to get one for my friend.”

“Friend, huh?” Brain hums skeptically.

“Well yeah, they’re in this just as much as we are, right? Chirithy can run off and do whatever they want, whenever they want, but they keep coming back when we need them because we matter to them.” Her companion looks absolutely thrilled when she nuzzles it. “Considering they never got a choice and are stuck with us, I think they deserve a little kindness. Besides, who’s going to root for you more than your own dreams?”

That strikes the young man; he’d never really thought about anything from a dream eater’s point of view. Honestly, considering the way Chirithy had introduced itself to him, it felt like just another resource at his beck and call—like a book or a map. Yet here is some random wielder justifying them as friends.

Brain notices the interest, almost longing, in his spirit’s eyes as they watch the other pair cuddling. This girl has him reconsidering everything he knows about his guide, but he’s not about to let it show to some no-name person. Arms folding behind his head, he yawns, “Well, thanks for the life lesson. Are we done now?”

Eyes roll but she kneels down before the other Chirithy. The cat practically melts with a couple scritches under the chin. “Good luck, little buddy. Try to stay out of trouble.”

“Okay.”

One last look is spared to the offender before she takes her leave. He waits until she’s well out of earshot to confront his spirit. “What happened? Why didn’t you escape?”

Suddenly reminded, Chirithy patters off to retrieve the text they had dropped in their flight. “I was going through town today and found this book!” Brain accepts the tome more out of curiosity than anything—until he sees the cover. “I remember you saying you liked this one and that you wish you had a copy.”

It’s already unfair that Brain had been guilted by a stranger but now his own Chirithy is practically rubbing his nose in it. This short being he only viewed as a tool genuinely took his off-hand comment to heart and risked their life to give him a gift. Perhaps there’s truth to her words about them.

“Uh, thanks,” the key-bearer mutters, unsure of how proceed. This is probably why Brain doesn’t have any friends: he doesn’t know what it’s like to have one. Complete randos he can deal with; a fully-aware creature wanting to befriend him, though, is a foreign concept. “I…appreciate it.”

Those three simple words bring a light to Chirithy’s eyes akin to that off the snuggled one. While he would have no idea how to express it, Brain internally admits that there’s a spark of enjoyment having been the cause of the spirit’s glee.

~~~~~

Chirithy and the unknown female have been owning Brain’s thoughts for a few days now. Ever since the incident, he just can’t look at his companion the same way anymore. The life and personality of the cat has always been there, it simply took him too long to realize it. They’re a little aloof and even kind of sassy, just like the wielder, but there’s a cute, bashful side too that he would’ve never known about.

Preparing for bed, Brain notices the top of his bookshelf. On one side sits a fedora he hasn’t worn in ages. The hoodie-wearing Chirithy pops to mind.

The hat comes down with an exorbitant amount of dust that attacks his lungs. Hacking away, he beats the headwear clean through the window before giving it a once over. It’s lightly worn but still in good condition; he definitely prefers the hat he has now though and has no plans to wear this one any time soon.

For a brief moment, he considers that he’s being ridiculous. He’s technically right about the Chirithy being only dreams; also, even if he viewed them as sentient, independent things, maybe his would reject him. On top of his lacking social skills, the things he said weren’t exactly a polite way to refer to living things. Even if he is accepted, there’s no guarantee that Brain can provide all the affection a ‘friend’ needs—he just can’t see himself getting all cuddly like that stranger.

_But it would be nice to have someone on my side…_

With a deep breath, Brain decides to suck it up and give it a go. “Oi, Chirithy.”

In a puff of smoke, said dream eater pops into this plain of existence. “Hey. What’s up?”

Not giving himself a chance to second-guess his choice, the man plops the spare hat over the cat’s ears. Chirithy tenses up like a confused cat with a flower on its head, but Brain attempts a compliment, “Just as I thought—looks good on you.”

They loosen up to awe. “Is this your hat?”

“One of my old ones, but you can have it.” There’s a smile—a real smile. “Oh, hold on.” From his current hat, he plucks the second, smaller feather and pokes it into the brim of Chirithy’s. “There. Lookin’ good, partner.”

Blue eyes glisten, but this Chirithy is nearly as stubborn as he is. They do their best to play it cool. “Yeah. I do look good, don’t I.”

He can’t even remember the last time he shared a laugh with someone. “Pretty slick, buddy.”


End file.
